Revolver

Revolver  Revolver is a 2005 British and French crime thriller co-written and directed by Guy Ritchie, Madonna’s ex. It stars the well-known and popular Jason Statham (Jake Green), Ray Liotta (Dorothy Macha) and Andre 300(Avi).

Revolver is a macho parable of a man who has fallen from grace and is out for revenge.

The Main Story

Macha is a crime boss who controls illegal gambling, and when he loses his card man. He chooses a replacement card man who is a successful gambler. The replacement card man is Jake Green, but he refuses to accept the job.

The crime boss starts harassing his family and threatening to kill his brother and brother’s niece if he doesn’t comply.

Jake eventually has no option and becomes the card man.

At one of the casino games, Jake shoots an opponent which leads to his arrest. Macha keeps Billy’s family hostage to ensure Jake does not bring his name into it and Jake receives a 14-year prison sentence. He is, however, given the option to choose to serve the 14 years in a normal, or seven years in solitary confinement. He chooses the solitary confinement option.

While in prison he meets a con-man and chess player and they work out various chess moves to ensure they can always beat the game. The formula could be applied to any game and not just chess.

The Ending

Upon his release from prison, he sets out to get revenge on Macha by using his mathematical formula and getting the money to get his niece back. Macha soon realizes that Jake is no longer scared of him and that now only death awaits him and preferably by his own hands. He, therefore, commits suicide.

Revolver is about gambling in life and its consequences and how egos and power are man’s biggest downfall. The movie was a box office flop as it had an overcomplicated storyline.

Ocean’s Eleven

Ocean's Eleven  Ocean’s Eleven is a 2001 American comedy written by Ted Griffin and directed by Steven Soderbergh. It is a remake of a 1960 classic of the same name. The movie has a star-studded cast, namely Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Andy García, Don Cheadle, Julia Roberts and Bernie Mac.

It is about some friends who plan a 160 million dollar heist from a casino owner.

The Main Story

After he is released from prison, Danny Ocean ( George Clooney ) travels to California to meet his partner-in-crime, Rusty Ryan ( Brad Pitt ) to propose a casino heist. The pair go to Las Vegas to pitch the plan to former casino owner Reuben Tishkoff who agrees to finance it. The plan consists of robbing the Mirage, the Bellagio, and the MGM Grand casinos simultaneously.

Danny and Rusty recruit eight criminal specialists that consist of a pickpocket, a casino worker, two mechanics, an electronics and surveillance expert, an explosives expert, an elderly conman and an acrobat.

After many days of surveillance of the casino systems, the team makes a false replica of the vault’s floor. They take videos that look like they have accessed the vault and trick the casino owner into giving them half of the cash in return for not blowing up the vault.

The heist is a success, and they land up with the 160 million dollars.

The Ending

There was no proof of Danny’s involvement in the heist, so he only got arrested for a parole violation by being in Las Vegas.

The rest of the team silently go their separate ways one-by-one. Upon Danny’s release after serving time for his parole violation, he is met by 2 of his friends Rusty and Tess, and they drive off into the sunset.

This was a perfect movie using the art of deception.

Mississippi Grind

Mississippi Grind  Mississippi Grind is a 2015 American drama written and directed by Ryan Fleck and Anna. It stars Ryan Reynolds, Sienna Miller, Ben Mendelsohn, Analeigh Tipton, Alfre Woodard and Robin Weigert.

The Main Story

The story is about Gerry ( Ben Mendelsohn ) who is a real estate agent and struggling gambler. He meets a young gambler called Curtis ( Ryan Reynolds ) at a casino in Dubuque, Iowa. They land up chatting and have a heavy night of drinking.

The 2 of them go to a dog track and win a large bet which Gerry gambles away. They move on to a bar and drunkenly bet $1000 on a pool game and land up getting kicked out of the bar. Curtis tells Gerry that “Machu Picchu time” is approaching, a phrase that he frequently uses when he leaves town.

Gerry and Curtis go on a gambling trip down the Mississippi River. Gerry plays Texas Hold ’em Poker while Curtis reunites with Simone, a prostitute.

In Memphis, Gerry plays well at Texas Hold ’em but loses everything on the final “river” card. However, he lies to Curtis and tells him that he won $7,000.

Curtis discovers his lie and has him beat up in the parking lot.

Nevertheless, they continue their journey and sell Gerry’s car to go to a horse race in New Orleans. They lose their money. Gerry finds another casino and bets the last of his money on roulette and blackjack and wins.

Curtis arrives at Gerry’s blackjack table, and Gerry shares his chips with him. They went on to win over half-million dollars.

The Ending

The following morning Curtis finds that Gerry has gone, but left him half of the money. On the table, there is a note that says “It’s Machu Picchu time”. Curtis heads off to Peru, and Gerry repurchases his car from the dealership and drives off, listening to the gambling tape he had left in the tape deck.